i had an idea

Thru-hikes are something I have always dreamed of as a possibility in my life. I have also always wanted to visit all 50 states. The idea of travel and adventure in general have always excited me and created a sense of yearning.

I have seen a map by www.randalolson.com of a cross-country trip to visit all the National Parks in the continuous United States. The map was built using an algorithm that optimized the entire trip and at a fast pace could be completed in two months time. It seems so cool to get an RV and head out to visit the National Parks and all their glory.

Planning goals with Mike has been a priority for us lately and an RV trip or a trip to Olympic National Park was on our long list. I started talking about the optimized map and said it would be so cool and he agreed and said, “Let’s do it! Start planning!” And even came up with some good ideas about details with the trip.

My idea expanded. If we were going to visit all the National Parks in the continuous United States then we should also visit each state. We quickly realized that the two month timeline would be extended and have set an approximate travel time as six months. We also decided to plan for about five years, so we can save and really have a good plan.

Welcome to the process, it might be long but it’s sure to be fun!